DAY 1
Sunset and city views from Lycabettus Hill
The trip started with a 4-hour flight from Amsterdam to Athens, followed by a 30-minute taxi to our hotel. We checked in and quickly settled into our room before heading out to catch the sunset and grab some dinner.
We were staying in the Jumelle neighborhood of Athens, a central but slightly less touristy area known for its shopping. We were about 20 minutes walking distance from the Acropolis, sandwiched between two parks.
Where we stayed: Coco-Mat Athens Jumelle
For sunset, we were heading north to one of the nature areas known as Lycabettus Hill.
While only short distance away, the walk to the edge of the park was entirely uphill (in fact, most of the walk was comprised of a series of staircases). Luckily once we made it, a funicular was waiting to take us the rest of the way to the top of the hill. We happily paid the 7€ fee and hopped aboard.
Once the funicular dropped us off, we climbed the rest of the way to the viewing platform at the top, which had a spectacular panoramic view of the sprawling city.
We arrived just half an hour before sunset, so by the time we got there the best spots along the railing were already taken. So we decided to start our descent back down the hill before the sun was fully set and enjoyed better, less obstructed views of the city and sunset on the way down.
About halfway down we came to a restaurant with called Prasini Tenta. We decided to stop in for dinner seated on their terrace, which had fantastic views of the city.
I ordered my first Greek salad of the trip and Dan got a burger. The food was decent (actually bmcuh etter than I expected) but the view and sunset was spectacular!
DAY 2
Food tour and Ancient Agora
For our first full day of the trip, we’d booked a food tour with Food around Athens.
Food tours are always a great way to get acquainted with a city and, well, eat a lot of really great food while doing so. This tour was excellent for both — definitely recommend you check them out!
The tour was concentrated mostly in a lively neighborhood to the north and east of the Acropolis called Plaka. Our tour guide, an Athens native, did a fantastic job of teaching us about the many culinary traditions of Athens as well as other regions of Greece.
Over the course of four hours, we stopped by at least 8 or 9 different places and sampled a range of traditional Greek dishes. Highlights included a spanakopita (spinach pie), kolokythokeftedes (fried zucchini balls), gigantes plaki (butter beans in a tomato sauce), and galaktoboureko (custard-filled pastries).
We also got to sample a number of traditional liquors and had a Greek coffee brewed in hot sand, a traditional technique that dates back over 500 years.
After several hours of nonstop eating, we were ready to burn off a few calories.
For the afternoon, we headed to the Ancient Agora of Athens, the second-most visited of Athen’s many archaeological sites.
We followed a self-guided tour in our Rick Steves guide book. We were glad to have this on hand as there wasn’t much information available at the site.
The first stop was the Stoa of Attalos, a long, two-story rectangular building lined with columns that was where many Athenians once did their shopping (that is, in the original structure… the one standing today is a recreation from the 1950s).
Inside the Stoa is the Agora Museum, filled with artifacts from Ancient Greece.
We continued the tour around the grounds until we finally reached the Temple of Hephaistos, which is amazingly well-preserved given it was built in 450 BC.
The temple is perched atop a small hill and has a nice view of the Acropolis.
After the Ancient Agora, we had some time to kill before dinner, so we headed to The Clumsies to try their famous Aegean Negroni cocktail, which has been ranked as the best cocktail in the world.
I’m not sure about the taste, but it sure was pretty to look at!
We eventually made our way to Karamanlidika, where we had an 8pm dinner reservation. We got some recommendations from our waiter and had a really fantastic meal.
DAY 3
The Acropolis and Acropolis Museum
The third day of the trip was all about the star of Athens: the Acropolis.
Hoping to beat the crowds and midday heat, we got an early start and headed directly to the Acropolis after breakfast. We bought tickets online and were able to skip the ticket line at the south entrance.
We followed the path past the Theater of Dionysus until we reached the top of the hill. Front and center was the Parthenon and to the side, the Erechtheion with its caryatids (columns carved into female figures).
I visited the Acropolis back in 2009 while studying abroad, so this was actually my second time here. And yet, it’s still such an amazing experience. It’s almost unfathomable how ancient and historically-important this place is.
We spent a couple of hours at the Acropolis before making our way back down the hill.
After exiting, we wandered a bit around Plaka (the same neighborhood we visited on the food tour) and eventually stopped for lunch at one of the touristy spots lining the picturesque square Filomousou Eterias.
We spent the remainder of the afternoon at the Acropolis Museum, which houses many artifacts from ancient Athens and the Acropolis itself.
The original caryatids from the Erechtheion temple are on display here (the ones at the Acropolis are reproductions), as are remnants from the Parthenon’s west frieze.
The highlight of the museum for me was the top floor with sculptures from the Parthenon with a view of the Acropolis serving as a backdrop.
Exhausted from a full day of sightseeing, we headed to Balcony Restaurant (recommended by a friend) just a few blocks from the museum for an early dinner.
The terrace had lovely views and everything we sampled from the menu was delicious. Highlights were the goat ragu with pasta and the crispy eggplant with sweet and sour sauce, which looked much more like fries than eggplant.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel to pack and prepare for the day ahead. The next day we were catching a ferry to our first island of the trip, Naxos!
Don’t miss it…
This post is a part of a larger two-week trip around Greece. Check out the full itinerary and an overview of the trip here!
